I. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to geophysical exploration systems and more particularly to data acquisition in geophysical exploration systems.
II. Background Discussion
Petrochemical products, such as oil and gas, are ubiquitous in society and can be found in everything from gasoline to children's toys. Because of this, the demand for oil and gas remains high. In order to meet this high demand, it is important to locate oil and gas reserves in the Earth. Scientists and engineers utilize, among other things, seismic and other wave exploration survey techniques to find oil and gas deposits within the Earth. These seismic exploration techniques often include controlling the emission of seismic energy into the Earth with a seismic source of energy (e.g., dynamite, air guns, and/or vibrators), and monitoring the Earth's response to the seismic source with a receiver (e.g., a geophone, a hydrophone, etc.). By observing the reflected seismic signals detected by the receiver during the survey, geophysical data pertaining to reflected signals may be acquired and these signals may indicate the composition of the Earth proximate to the survey location.
One concern with the current methods of processing seismic imaging data is reliability. Data used to determine a drilling location, is recorded and a model is developed, based on the data recorded. The data may then be used to predict and illustrate the underground structure. For example, where a reservoir might be located or other details of the subsurface structure. Incorrect data causes companies to lose money in labor and equipment costs, as well as opportunity costs. For example, a company following incorrect data may drill in the wrong area and lose time that could have been spent drilling in the correct area. Data reliability is especially important in instances where there are complicated geological structures in the subsurface. However, these complicated geological structures create large problems for imaging. This is because the speed of sound varies significantly in complicated structures. For example, if the variation of wave speed occurs very quickly laterally, then the model for predicting the data may be inaccurate.
Accordingly, methods and apparatuses are needed to provide more accurate modeling and data for determining subsurface structures.